The child was reportedly trapped in the washing machine on high speed for several minutes at the Le's Washateria at about 6:15 p.m. before anyone noticed.

Police said a woman had tried to use that same machine moments earlier and told a manager it wasn't working properly. She then got a refund and moved to another machine.

It's still unclear how the girl ended up in the washer. Detectives are also still trying to figure out when it began working.

"She was tumbling pretty fast in there," said Vance Mitchell with Pasadena Police. "One person walked by and said they saw something flopping around in there. They thought it was just a dress or something because it was moving pretty fast."

Police haven't said where the girl's parents were or who was watching her.